Lockeport

The first time I heard about the town of Lockeport was on Late Show with David Letterman. It was January 2008 and Ellen Page was his guest, promoting her hit movie Juno. A few weeks later she would be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her role. Among other tidbits about Nova Scotia, Ellen told Dave about the interesting Canada Day celebrations in Lockeport, where her father is from. 

Lockeport is located in Shelburne County on Nova Scotia's south shore. The Mi'kmaq people called this area Sipenisk, meaning "at the passage place". Lockeport was settled by two families from Massachusetts in 1762 and incorporated as a town in 1907. Now with 531 residents, it sits firmly in the “tiny-wee” category of my completely arbitrary town classification system.

We visited Lockeport on May 31st. My first impression of the town was “Holy beautiful beach Batman!” Crescent Beach is a 1.5 km white sand beach, forever immortalized on Canada's 1954 $50 bill. The town sits on a peninsula connected to the mainland by the Crescent Beach Causeway. With a harbour on one side of town and a causeway on the other, you may want to consider it when planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Here's how I made out on my town “To do” list:

1. Selfie – I didn't find a “Welcome to” sign at the town's entrance, but my image is forever immortalized in the “Lockeport Lobster” big head cutout at the visitor's centre located at the town's entrance.

Crescent Beach Visitor's Centre

2. Visitor's Centre – For a tiny-wee town located 19 km off the highway, Lockeport's Crescent Beach Visitor's Centre is pretty darn beautiful, offering a 360 degree views of the town and beach from it's second floor. Greg was very helpful in answering my many questions.

3. Museum – the Little School Museum is only open July 1st to September 4th, but thankfully the Visitor's Centre is also the site of the Ragged Islands Historical Society, and contains loads of information and art depicting the town's history and commemorating those lost at sea.

Lockeport Boardwalk

4. Public Space – We strolled along the Lockeport Walking Trail - a boardwalk that runs from the Visitor's Centre, behind the soccer field, schools and into the town. Sports is big in Lockeport, since 1950 this tiny-wee town has garnered 44 provincial championships in basketball, soccer and track and field.

5. Dining - Our options were somewhat limited, as the White Gull Restaurant didn't open til the following day, but Greg suggested The Town Market, where we picked up some delicious sandwiches and garlic fingers, and sat in front of the store to indulge in our nibblies and do some people watching. Super friendly folks in this town, very tolerant of curious weirdos.

The Town Market

6. Spirits – Lockeport doesn't produce any, but you can find Boxing Rock brews from nearby Shelburne at the Lockeport NSLC.

7. Public Art – Spotted a lovely mural on the side of The Town Market

8. Town Swag – I totally forgot this one (sorry Lockeport – you were my first!) so for the time being I will keep my Highlights of Lockeport's History booklet as my swag, at least until I can get my paws on a “Lovin' Lockeport” keychain.

If you're considering stopping by, here's some Lockeport events you may want to check out: Canada Day celebrations (June 21st-July 2nd), Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song (July 28th), and Lockeport Sea Derby (August 10th-12th).

A little bit of trivia: Nova Scotia's first provincially registered historic streetscape can be found at the lower end of South Street overlooking Lockeport Harbour.

My next stop – the town that is said to have inspired the popular song, “It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. Check back on Wednesday!